Mozart, Menuett, K. 409

Karl Böhm heads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in this performance ofthe Minuet K. 409, written in Vienna towards 1782. It was presumablycomposed for a performance of the Symphony in C major K. 338 in Vienna'sAugarten in May 1782. Let us recall that the autograph of the Symphony K.338, written in Salzburg, contained only the beginning of a Minuet, whichwas then crossed out. The more progressive Viennese public preferredfour-movement works, which might explain the origin of this Minuet. It isone of Mozart's most imaginative and beguiling minuets.Karl Böhm was universally acclaimed for his Mozart interpretations. ThoughWagner was one of Böhm's first loves, his friendship with Richard Straussled to a deep knowledge and appreciation of Mozart. In his autobiography,Böhm wrote that "Richard Strauss revealed to me the ultimate secrets ofthis, in my opinion, greatest of all musical geniuses, Mozart." Böhm'sdiscovery of these secrets transformed his Mozart interpretations intounforgettable events.